A new wind turbine blade manufacturing method is described in International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2013/113813 A1. A blade half shell is formed through the layup of fibre material and curable resin in a relatively simple, preferably stationary, blade shell mould. The resin is cured to form the blade half shell, which is then transferred from the blade mould to a post-moulding station comprising an open-framed blade shell cradle. The blade half shells can be retained in the cradle through the use of vacuum suction cups located along the length of the blade cradle. Various different post-moulding operations can be performed on the blade shell in the cradle, e.g. adhesive application, grinding, painting, machining, etc. A pair of blade half shells can be closed at the post-moulding station to form a finished wind turbine blade, by the turning of a first blade cradle having a first half shell on top of a second blade cradle having a second half shell.
An advantage of such a system is that the occupancy time of the blade mould is reduced, as the cured blade shell is transferred to the post-moulding cradle for further processing, once the curing operation is complete. Consequently, the cycle time for production of sets of wind turbine blades can be reduced, with a more efficient use of resources, e.g. equipment, manufacturing teams, etc.
However, such a manufacturing system presents challenges with regard to the handling of the blade half shells and the finished blade. It is an object of the invention to provide a manufacturing system and method having improved handling systems compared to the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,753 discloses a method of manufacturing a helicopter blade. The method involves forming a hardened shell enclosing a spar. The hardened shell comprises two shell parts which are manufactured in mould such that an edge extends beyond the mould. The edges are trimmed off after the helicopter blade has hardened.